


Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist... Mutant

by PotterheadAvengerDemigod



Series: Blue Streaks, Electric Eyes and Black Masks [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: BAMF Tony, Big Secrets, Gen, Identity Reveal, Mutant Powers, Mutant Tony Stark, Mutants, Secret Identity, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Team as Family, Tony Being Tony, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Secrets, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, but the team trusts him anyway, powerful tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2015-04-25
Packaged: 2018-02-11 21:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2083965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterheadAvengerDemigod/pseuds/PotterheadAvengerDemigod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark has always had many names, almost more than most people can keep track of. He freely admits that he himself can't remember all of them. He's already rebuked a few of those said names, and each one has its own backstories and feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Many Masks

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Set somewhere after IM3, but ignores events of IM3.  
> First story on this website, hope you guys like it! (Personally, I feel it's a little strange... Oh well)  
> Disclaimer: Do not own Avengers (or X-Men). Rights for those go to Marvel... ;( Own the story plot though.

There is only one person in the world that Tony Stark allows to call him Anthony.

Sure, Thor calls him 'Friend Anthony' from time to time, but that's only when it slips off his tongue without him thinking, and either way, Tony still flinches when it happens.

To Thor, he's usually just 'Man of Iron', or 'Son of Stark', which also has bad connotations, but it's better than 'Anthony'.

No, there is only one person in the entire world -or, in Thor-speak, the Nine Realms- that is allowed to call him Anthony unconditionally.

Tony Stark has always had many names, almost more than most people can keep track of. He freely admits that he himself can't remember all of them. He's already rebuked a few of those said names, and each one has its own backstories and feelings.

Anthony Edward Stark brings the terrible ones, of blood and glass bottles, of alcohol and drunken rage. It brings agony and fury, fear and abuse. It's the first he'd ever rebuked.

Tony brings feelings of falsehood, of masks and sarcasm; it brings hiding from the world.

But it also means belonging. It means friendship, it means the Avengers.

There are other names that he doesn't ever want to hear or acknowledge ever again, like Howard's son, or Merchant of Death.

Then there's the name that no one save a few associate to him. Not even the Avengers know this one.

It brings with it family and warmth, care and love. It brings the feeling of being special yet accepted.

It means the X-Men.

He's one of the most powerful, one of the leaders of the X-Men, Scott's second on the field, the benefactor of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

He has three main powers: Telekinesis, Technopathy, and Energy Absorption/Manipulation.

His Energy Absorption and Manipulation is his strongest, rivalling even Jean's Telekinesis in terms of strength, and the other two aren't far behind.

And when he's in the black leathers of the X-Men, he's not Tony, not Anthony, not Iron Man.

He's Arc.

* * *

 

The Brotherhood's attacked yet again, and while they're still relatively easy to take down, they've become even more daring, threatening the relative safety of the citizens of Manhattan.

Erik's also started sending his higher level mutants on more attacks, and now, more often than not, Bobby's against Pyro and the Class Threes and above appear more and more often. **(A/N: If you’re not much of an X-Men fan, I’m gonna include a list of who’s who (Mutants only) in the A/N at the end of the fic. :D)**

"Arc, I need you to help Shadowcat with Juggernaut -she can't phase through all his attacks forever," Scott half-orders, knowing that if he tries bossing Arc around too much, the other mutant's just gonna rebel.

"On it, One-Eye. That wrecking ball won't know what hit him."

Scott half-sighs, half-chuckles. Arc's never gonna stop calling him that, is he?

"Just get your ass over there, Mr. Technology," Scott grumbles, a half-smile pulling at his lips.

Arc levitates himself into the air, dropping in -literally- on Kitty's and Juggernaut's fight.

Shadowcat had just about spent the entire fight intangible, letting the other mutant barrel through her incorporeal form, when Arc landed.

"Hey Kit. Looks like you need some help."

"Arc!" The girl exclaimed.

Using his telekinesis, Arc robbed the mutant of his speed, slowing him down to a temporary standstill.

He grabbed hold of the mutant's neck, absorbing just enough energy from him to send Juggernaut spiraling into unconsciousness.

As Juggernaut slumped, Arc quickly let go of him, allowing the man's form to crash to the floor, even his currently energy enhanced strength unable to hold the immense man up for an extended period of time.

"You're welcome," he shoots at Kitty, grinning.

Kitty smiles in reply, running off to help Kurt.

Arc takes down a few more of the Brotherhood, and after a while, the attacking force has been reasonably subdued, most of them unconscious and the few left having fled.

It is then that Tony's phone rings.

He pulls out the StarkPhone, answering the call with a deft swipe.

"Hey Capsicle. See you finally figured out how to work a phone."

"Fury's calling us in again. He's asking you to suit up and meet at the Helicarrier in ten. Maximum."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'll get there when I get there, Cap."

The billionaire turns to Scott and explains the situation before levitating off to Stark -Avengers- Tower.

He drops into the Tower, the mechanisms of his suit donning/ removal machine starting up and piecing his suit together around him, as he raises a hand to remove his mask.

He opens a small compartment in the suit, stashing his Arc Mask in the hollowed out space before letting it click close.

As the faceplate of the suit snaps down, his repulsors come online, propelling the genius into the air and zooming towards the Helicarrier.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	2. In The Suit? (Really, Fury?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own Avengers or X-Men... TT.TT  
> Oh well... Anyways, I'll try to update (sort of) regularly :)  
> This chapter's kinda short too, I guess... Sorry (usually my fics are longer than this... My oneshots are always above 2k+... Oh well.)  
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> P.S. I'll be adding the list of mutants at the bottom again, so that it's more convenient for you guys! :)  
> P.P.S. Thanks for all the comments/kudos, guys! It means a lot! You won't believe how happy I was when I saw that I got a comment not even half an hour after I posted! :)  
> Yes, dumb chapter title, I know...

As Tony approaches the flying fortress -yeah right. His Malibu mansion had better security than that hunk of metal-, he slows his speed.

While he could have been at the Helicarrier a heck a lot quicker than ten minutes, he is Tony Freaking Stark, and he doesn’t do orders.

So at exactly eleven minutes after Cap’s call, Tony Stark strides into the meeting room.

“You’re late, Stark,” Fury growls, while Clint, Bruce and even Natasha snicker subtly as they realise that Tony was _exactly_ a minute late. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Tony’d timed his entrance perfectly.

The suit’s faceplate lifts, and Tony is smirking smugly at all of them. “What’s the issue, Fury? And why’d you call me here in my _suit_?”

Fury doesn’t deem to answer that.

“There’s a man I want the Avengers to meet.”

On cue, the door slides open and a man in a motorised wheelchair rolls in. The spokes of the wheels on his chair are elegantly cast into a ‘X’, and the man himself has a sort of calm, teacherly aura that, despite the Avengers’ trust issues, immediately takes away the edge from their distrust.

They are still on guard though -they wouldn’t be the Avengers if they let down their guard so easily.

“This,” Fury says, gesturing to the wheelchair-bound man, “is Professor Charles Xavier. He is the leader of the X-Men. I trust you all know of them.”

The Avengers nod, looking at the bald man in front of them with appraising eyes. He must be quite the superpower if he’s the leader of the X-Men, the most well-known mutants this side of, well, anywhere.

They find that, between his title and genial smile and aura, this man is pretty trustworthy. After all, the leader of the X-Men can’t be a villain.

But while the others are scrutinising the newcomer, Tony has stepped forward, a genuine, bright smile plastered on his features, his eyes glittering with happiness.

“Charles!” Tony cries, gingerly wrapping the shorter man in a hug, careful of both his suit’s strength and his currently enhanced physical prowess, his body still humming with the excess energy that he’d absorbed from Juggernaut.

Damn, that guy had a freaking _reservoir_ of energy.

“Anthony,” Charles acknowledges, smiling at the man he’d practically raised. “It is remarkably pleasing to see you again. I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Ditto,” Tony grins.

Fury gapes at the scene, the superspy at a loss for words, for once. The whole reason he’d had Tony wear the suit in was because he didn’t trust this Xavier, and having Iron Man armoured up and ready to fight was a surprisingly good intimidation tactic.

And here Stark was, laughing and hugging said untrusted man like the two’d known each other since birth.

“Tony?” Steve asks, utterly confused. Tony is one of the least trusting in their ragtag little group, and he’d expected the older -younger?- man to snark and sass his way out of the meeting. This is completely unexpected.

"You know this guy?"

"Yep," Tony replies, still smiling. "He's one of my closest friends. Saved my life quite a few times."

The Avengers absorb the information, warming up to the man as they process that Tony wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this man in front of them.

"So..." Clint hesitates. "What're your powers?"

Charles smiles. He had wondered when that question would come up. "I am a telepath, meaning I can read a person's mind and control their actions."

All the people in the room, excluding Tony, gape, taking an unconscious step backwards, as if physical distance could prevent them from being mind-raped if Xavier so wished it.

Tony laughs at their stricken expressions, finding the thought that Charles would hurt anyone without provocation ridiculous. Heck, even _with_ provocation the man hardly ever hit back.

It is then that Agent Hill strides into the meeting room, her expression signaling something very serious.

At the same time, Charles takes on the look that says he’s communicating with someone in his mind.

“Agent Hill, report,” Fury orders, at the same time that Charles surfaces from his trance, Tony cocking his head in curiosity, obviously asking what was wrong.

“There’s been a Brotherhood attack downtown. All the more powerful are there; Pyro, Raven, Sabretooth, Riptide, Phantazia, Callisto, Azazel, Emma Frost, Psylocke, to name a few.”

Inwardly, Tony curses. While he could easily take said mutants with the other X-Men, he can’t help but wonder how many of his team is going to be hurt if he can’t help them.

Hill looks at the wheelchair-bound man, and although her posture gives nothing away, her eyes are obviously shocked. The man had just stated all the information that she had been about to inform the Director of, and in even more detail than she had known.

Charles looks at the Avengers’ slightly uncomprehending faces and explains. “The Brotherhood of Chaos is the X-Men’s arch-nemesis, so to speak. The few names that I have just mentioned are some of the mutants that have been seen fighting downtown. The X-Men are there and fighting as we speak.”

Fury scowls at the mutant getting information quicker than him. S.H.I.E.L.D. was a damned _intelligence_ agency, for God's sake! They should be getting intel faster than Charles Xavier! "How do you know this?"

"My team's leader, Scott, or Cyclops as you know him, has been in contact with me telepathically. The fight is not exactly going well. My team is outnumbered three to one."

"Hang on," Natasha cut in. "I thought that that masked X-Man -what's his name?- oh yes, Arc, was the leader of the X-Men."

Tony stifles a chuckle as Xavier's eyes crinkle and he looks up at the Russian spy. "Oh, not quite, my dear. Arc is Scott's second, actually. While he is technically stronger than Scott, Arc has never liked leadership, so the mantle goes to Scott."

Fury takes the file that Agent Hill hands him, skimming through the stats and intel.

"Avengers, you have a mission. You are to head to downtown Manhattan and assist the X-Men in any way possible. We want as little property damage as possible. Do you hear me, Stark?" Fury orders, specifically directing the last statement at Tony.

All the occupants of the room, even Maria Hill and Charles snicker at Tony's scandalised expression.

"I'm hurt, Fury! How could you accuse me of damaging property?"

The one eyed director scowls. "Just get out there."

Tony zooms off, Thor keeping pace as the other four, who can't fly, head to the Quinjet designated for the Avengers. Tony had even spray painted the Avengers logo onto the black metal, which had made Fury yell and Natasha groan as the logo pretty much destroyed whatever element of surprise they had.

Still, no one had scrubbed it off.

The Avenger Quinjet flies off, just on Tony's and Thor's heels.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	3. The A(rc)vengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins. Avengers meet the X-Men (well, some of them) and Arc finally makes an appearance (discounting the short first one)!  
> Ugh my chapter titles...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again, remarkably short, I'm sorry... ;(  
> Enjoy though! Thanks for all the comments and kudos (You guys are awesome!)  
> P.S. To those that think Tony's a tad overpowered, yeah, I realise that... but I'm kinda completely Tony-biased...

Iron Man lands gracefully beside Scott, and the X-Man smiles gratefully. "Tony, thank God! There's too many of them to handle, we're completely overwhelmed. I already called Ororo, she's bring backup in the Blackbird. Right now there's only me, Kitty, Logan, Kurt and Bobby here."

"Where do you want me?" Tony asks immediately, his Arc personality taking hold.

Scott grins tersely. "Go help Logan with Mystique and Sabretooth. The man may not want the help but he sure as hell needs it. Mystique's as slippery as an eel and tough as-"

Scott cuts off his sentence as Azazel poofs into existence in front of him, only to receive an optic blast straight to the chest, sending him reeling back to where Bobby freezes him.

"-they come," Scott finishes.

Tony smirks, repulsors igniting and zooming off to Logan's side.

Thor watches the interaction while taking out a bunch of the other mutants that Magneto deemed expendable.

As the flow of mutants rushing towards the god of thunder begins slowing, Thor and the other Avengers -who had come in the time it had taken Scott and Bobby to temporarily disable Azazel- save Tony begin assessing their comrades, noticing each of their powers and fighting styles -well, at least those within sight, like Cyclops and Iceman.

ooOoo

Tony's repulsors blink out as he lands steadily beside Logan, the two naturally gravitating back to back as Sabretooth and Mystique circle.

"Hey, bub. Get your ass out of here, I can handle these two perfectly fine by myself."

"Scott said you'd say that. Also, I’m supposed to stay here and help you, because Mystique’s quote ‘as slippery as an eel and tough as they come’ unquote.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Fine. You take the girl. I’ll take the annoying bastard.”

Tony grins. “With pleasure.”

As Iron Man nears Mystique, the shapeshifter glares at him. “So the Avengers are working with the X-Men now? Pathetic. Can’t even take us themselves. Erik’s right. The X-Men are a disgrace to mutantkind."

Tony scoffs. "Yeah. See if you can find a member of the Brotherhood who's as powerful as Jean."

Mystique scowls, and her leg swings up in a powerful high kick, which is a surprisingly adequate move as the titanium-gold alloy unexpectedly dents under her foot.

The blue-skinned woman stumbles back as she hardens her expression to hide the pain in her eyes from her bare flesh meeting the metal. But the pain is somewhat worth it when she sees the dent in the alloy.

Tony curses, feeling the metal press in, wondering how the hell this girl managed to _kick_ in his suit.

Oh, what the heck.

He powers up his repulsors, and the glowing blue energy hits Mystique in the chest, sending the woman reeling backward. Unconsciously, Tony manipulates the electric pulses in the air, absorbing them in and using them to power his repulsors, unintentionally firing at Mystique with more force than expected.

The beams blister her skin slightly, eliciting a sort of muffled cry from her throat, which she forces down to avoid showing weakness in front of her enemies. She jumps to her feet, facing off Tony yet again, her yellow eyes glaring and hostile.

She spins, her fist flying towards Tony’s faceplate, and by pure reflex, Tony grabs her incoming arm and twists it, sending her hurtling over his armoured shoulder, her landing awkward and loud, her head knocking brutally against the tarred ground.

Mystique stumbles to her feet, a hand to her bleeding temple, and flees the scene.

A yell echoes from behind the suited Avenger, and Tony spins just in time to see an orangey-brown blur lunge for him, knocking him to the ground and sending his HUD flickering until he pushes more energy into its circuits.

The screeching noise of something sharp scraping across his suit cuts at his ears, and blindly, he notes that Logan’s nemesis has somehow charged at him and is clawing furiously at his suit.

He barely has the time to think _‘Where’s Logan?’_ before the hunk of fur on top of him is wrested away and stabbed viciously, adamantium claws sinking into the mutant’s body repeatedly. The guy should be dead by now, but Tony’s forgotten to factor in the fact that Sabretooth’s healing factor is just as strong as Logan’s.

Each time the claws are retracted, the wounds close up seamlessly, leaving only slightly more bloodstained skin behind.

Wolverine growls, cursing, as his opponent leaps up, claws slashing wildly and catching the skin of his chest, gouging deep and drawing blood which trickles down Sabretooth’s claws.

Logan’s chest knits itself back together, the only sign of him ever having been injured being his ripped leathers.

Sabretooth grins ferally, licking the blood off of his claws, baring his animal fangs at his opponent. “Tasty, _runt_.”

Wolverine snarls, face contorted as he faces off the taller mutant. He strikes out with his bloodstained claws, blades whistling sharply through the air. His leg muscles bunch up, propelling him through the air above Sabretooth’s head, and he slices clean through the man’s shoulder on his arc downwards.

The feral mutant howls in fury and agony, the injury already closing. He pivots, staring down his enemy and growling, animalistic intimidation tactics coming into play. “That the best you can do, midget?”

Tony sees his opening, and takes it.

He reroutes power to the unibeam, charging the chestpiece up as he takes aim at Sabretooth's unprotected back.

Okay, so shooting the guy in the back when he wasn’t paying attention isn’t exactly honourable, and counted as a dirty trick, but try to find a villain who, given the opportunity, wouldn’t attack you unawares. It’s not wrong to cheat in a battle; after all, your enemies will sure as hell be cheating too -just look at how Sabretooth attacked him earlier.

The repulsor ray hits the feral mutant right in the back, sending the man flying towards Logan, who sidesteps the projectile mutant at the last moment.

Sabretooth is unconscious when he thuds to the ground, the repulsor ray that hit him having been set on high.

Logan produces rope from his X-Men leathers -unbreakable rope developed by Tony specifically for mutants like Sabretooth and Juggernaut, who are stronger than the average human or mutant- and ties Sabretooth up.

Wolverine’s claws retract, grumbling good-naturedly at Tony. “Thanks for stealing my nemesis.”

“No problem, furball.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Shut it, bub.”

At that moment, Charles’s voice echoes in both Tony’s and Logan’s heads. _Anthony, Logan, get out of there! Erik’s on his way -Logan, you know you can’t go up against him, and Anthony, if you do, at least get out of the suit!_

Tony panics internally. _Charles, I can’t get out of the suit! I’m wearing Arc’s outfit under; didn’t have time to change out!_

Tony goes silent, mind desperately formulating a plan in which he didn't have to reveal himself as Arc but wouldn't be at risk from Magneto. _Are there any people within sight of me?_

_It's safe, Anthony, but get out of the suit, and fast. Erik's almost there._

The suit disengages, allowing Tony to step out of it. He is dressed in his X-Men leathers, and he bends to the compartment in the empty suit, pulling out Arc's mask and slipping it on.

Most people would have been afraid to face Magneto, a metal controlling mutant, with a hunk of metal embedded in their chest.

Not Tony Stark.

Thankfully, Tony's energy manipulation stretches to cutting off the electrical impulses that the brain sends to the body, effectively stopping whatever movement or action a person wants to take. And cutting off Magneto's power to control the metal in him.

Tony doesn't use the power often though -only when necessary.

The power drains him, and he can't control a person on a large scale, only block off small actions, like trying to manipulate his Arc Reactor. He doesn't use it often; he has no reason to. Arc's powerful enough as it is.

Sadly, that also meant that Magneto wouldn't be as powerless as Tony would have liked him to be. The man would still be able to control metal, just not the metal in his chest.

Tony instructs JARVIS to fly the empty suit around, maybe occasionally let an Avenger or two see it, but not to go anywhere near Magneto under _any_ circumstances (unless he overrode his own order, of course). He did _not_ want to have to rebuild his entire suit just because Magneto tossed it around a little.

He comms Cap, quickly explaining why he's gonna be MIA for a while. He tells the good Captain that he'll fly around and take out the mutants that wander around and aren't near Magneto, after all, contrary to popular belief, he does have _some_ self-preservation skills.

Tony ends the comm, flips on his voice modulator, and his Arc personality snaps into place along with the voice.

“Wolverine, I get that you wanna fight, but you can’t be near Magneto. Stay the hell away from the guy, you hear? You can take out the others, but don’t go near the guy, got it?”

Logan almost protests, but he sees that Arc is utterly serious, for once, and besides, the order is pretty logical, and it’s not like he’s been forced to sit out entirely. He doesn’t particularly want to be thrown around like a ragdoll by the man’s powers anyway.

So he agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	4. Logan, The Five Teams, and The Masked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... Team-ups happen! Avengers meet Arc etc etc. (Yeah, not my best summary...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry bout this, really short, promise next chapter'll be longer!

The Avengers and the X-Men -well, the ones that are here, anyway- gather, eleven heroes against the full might of the Brotherhood.

When Scott sees Arc and Logan speeding towards them -well, levitating, seeing as flying _over_ the carnage of the battlefield is a heck a lot more effective than hurdling all the broken pavement and debris-, he sighs in relief.

For a moment he’d been afraid that Tony’d show up in the suit, putting himself at the mercy of Magneto.

Thankfully, it seemed that the Professor had forewarned Tony in time, seeing as Arc had turned up, instead of Iron Man.

The Avengers watch as Wolverine and another X-Man landed, the other X-Man obviously levitating them both, as everyone knew that flying was _not_ one of Wolverine’s powers.

Wolverine stumbles upon touching the ground, losing his balance for a moment, while the other mutant lands smoothly, with the ease and grace of long practice.

The man is garbed in the typical black leathers of the X-Men, a long-sleeved, pitch black, form-fitting bodysuit with a high collar open at the throat. At the ends of the high collar are two silvery ‘X’s sewn into the material, and another ‘X’ is emblazoned across the chest, the last ‘X’ is a metallic one, placed where a belt buckle would be on a normal outfit. The shoulders, forearms and sides of the suit as well as the ‘X’ spanning his chest are edged with electric blue.

Shielding about three quarters of his face was a black mask, intricate circuitry that glowed an ethereal silvery-blue crossing the material. His eyes glow with the same silvery shade of blue, with no pupils or irises, electricity arcing across the luminous canvas of his eyes. The X-Man’s dark brown hair is streaked with electric blue, the same shade that edges his suit.

Scott grins, features relieved. “Arc, thank God!”

The Avengers do a double take as they realise that this X-Man is the elusive, powerful Arc, the apparent second-in-command that could have been the leader but didn’t want to be.

The mutant stands slightly in front of the other heroes, as if shielding them from the multitude of villains in front of them.

Some of the opposing side have shrunk back a little -it appears that Arc is quite the superpower.

A bulky, unfathomably muscled man charges straight out of the crowd of enemies, beelining towards Arc, roaring in anger.

“Juggernaut?” Arc mutters to himself in mild confusion before raising his voice. “Hey, Juggy, didn’t I already defeat you once today? You like your ass handed to you on a platter, don’t you?”

That being said, the mutant outstretches a hand, and electricity crackles from his open palm, and, just like his name, arcs towards the charging enemy. The bolt of blinding white meets the target straight in the chest, and the man shudders, convulsing as his body falls to the ground, trying to shake off the electrocution.

Arc knows from experience that the electricity won’t last long on the oversized man, and his telekinesis levitates the man towards him, a loop of his specially engineered rope binding itself tightly around the shaking form, ending itself in a tight knot that will probably be hell on whoever tries to untie it.

“Well, that was easy,” the technopath muses.

“You underestimate the Brotherhood, Arc,” Magneto sneers. “We will not be as easily taken down as that fool Juggernaut was.”

A few hundred tons of metal rise into the surrounding air, casting speckled shadows on the ground.

The metal flies towards the Avengers and X-Men in a single swift motion, and the heroes’ eyes widen as they realise that there’s almost no way to avoid the projectiles speeding towards them.

Before Arc’s telekinesis can even think of slowing the metal down, they all halt in mid air and drop to the ground, amazingly staying there, no matter how much Magneto gestures.

Behind the X-Men and Avengers, a familiar-looking sleek black plane touches down, and the gangplank lowers.

The Avengers are on guard, and they are torn between guarding against the aircraft and guarding against the Brotherhood.

The problem is solved when a woman with dark skin and pure white hair strides out of the plane dressed in X-Men leathers and a cape. She is followed by a redhead in the X-Men outfit too, her forehead creased and fingers pressed to her temple.

One by one, men and women alike, dressed in black leathers, descend from the Blackbird -Storm, Jean, Rogue, Beast, Colossus, Angel.

The reinforcements have arrived.

“About time you showed up!” Arc calls without looking back. “Scott called you guys like half an hour ago!”

Sparing the new arrivals a quick glance, he notices Jean’s face creased in focus. “Hey, Jean, need help?”

“God, yes, Arc! Do you even need to ask?” Said woman grits out in exasperation.

Arc’s telekinesis joins Jean’s in pressing down the metal to prevent Magneto from shooting it at them again, and together, the two of them are more than a match for Magneto, and the man’s control over the metal is blown off -temporarily, at least.

Jean and Arc immediately cease their control of the metal as well, knowing that it’s illogical to drain themselves on something so redundant. **(A/N: Okay, I'm screwing up Erik's powers, I know... Sorry... My only excuse is probably creative license...)**

Scott and Cap confer, discussing strategy and team ups, Arc standing by and offering muttered advice to Scott on which Avenger would work best with each X-Men, which powers and strengths and weaknesses balances out or complements the others’.

“Shadowcat, you and Jean work with Black Widow. Iceman, you and Angel go with Hawkeye. Storm, Rogue, you’re with Thor. Beast, Colossus, the Hulk. Wolverine, freelance, pick off the stragglers, but _don’t_ go _anywhere_ near Magneto. Nightcrawler, you’re with the Captain and I. Arc, choose your own team.”

Arc nodded in acquiescence, sizing up each team’s individual strengths and weaknesses. Most of the team were pretty well-balanced, and he could see none of them having trouble going up against the Brotherhood, unless it was Magneto. _That_ , was going to be a problem. All the Avengers except Hulk used some form of metal as a weapon, and Tony wasn’t strong enough to block Magneto from controlling their weapons, especially if he tried controlling all their weapons at the same time.

Guess he’d freelance then, bounce around and help the team that needed the most help. Maybe he’d try to deter Magneto from attacking too.

Yeah, he could do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for surviving that crap! :)  
> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	5. The Battle Rages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fight Begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own X-Men or Avengers... TT.TT  
> Anyway, longer chapter, but I apologise in advance for utterly butchering the X-Men's powers... Also, beware! Majorly overpowered Tony Stark in this chapter (And probably in the next few chapters as well...)

Thor looks at the two maidens who the Captain had grouped him with. The Director had said that mutants were humans with powers -so what were these two maidens’?

He asks, and the white-haired one smiles slightly. “I control the weather. Rogue here absorbs others’ energy and powers.”

Thor grins.

“I too can control the weather, fair maiden! Your powers are mightily interesting, Men of X!”

Even Rogue quirks a small smile at Thor’s manner of speaking.

“Come, let us do battle!”

With a booming battlecry, Thor spins Mjolnir swiftly, and launches into the air, Storm quickly following, grabbing Rogue along with her.

The three of them engage Riptide and Toad, the latter being easily taken out when he stupidly tries to grab Thor with his tongue, which the god grabs ahold of and repeatedly smashes the amphibious mutant into the ground.

Riptide is a tad trickier, as the man moves too fast, his body the centre of a spinning vortex, which despite being controlled by Storm, they still have to dodge the bone projectiles flung by the man at the eye.

Thor finally gets tired of the ‘outrun the hurricane’ game, whirling Mjolnir and charging headfirst into the swirling vortex, tackling Riptide straight on and bodily pushing him out of his creation, which dissipates almost immediately.

The god flings the man through the air, and he slides in front of Rogue, who whips off her glove and presses her bare hand to the man’s exposed throat.

A moment later, the girl withdraws, and twin tornadoes spin from her palms. They grow in size, and at a look from Rogue, Storm charges the vortexes with lightning, and they are sent spinning towards the dazed Riptide, who is flung into the side of a building and electrocuted from the force of the whirlwinds.

The three heroes stand, almost entirely unharmed, except a few scratches here and there where Riptide’s bone projectiles grazed past.

“Well, that was quick.”

* * *

Cap, Cyclops and Nightcrawler engage Callisto and Azazel, the former frustratingly fast and the latter frustratingly hard to catch.

Thankfully, Nightcrawler can teleport too -that was the main reason their team chose to engage these two in particular.

Azazel has an annoying habit of poofing up behind people, grabbing them, and teleporting them into midair where he drops them.

The first time he tries this on Cap, he receives a faceful of vibranium shield.

He doesn’t try again.

He tries it on Scott next, poofing behind the man, but the X-Men’s leader sees the red smoke from his reappearance, and he gets an optic blast to the face.

But Azazel simply reels back before lunging forward, grabbing Scott and disappearing in a puff of smoke, only to appear some thirty meters or so in the air, letting go of the struggling X-Men and teleporting back to solid earth.

Scott flails through the air, face ashen and panicked as the air rushes in his face in his downwards plummet.

Steve looks on, aghast as the X-Men falls to his death.

"Nightcrawler!" Cap yells, knowing that only Nightcrawler could save Scott.

At the same time, Cyclops yells, "Kurt!"

Nightcrawler turns abruptly, but Callisto is still bombarding the blue-furred mutant with quick attacks, preventing Nightcrawler from mustering the concentration to save Scott.

Scott falls through the air, gaining speed and at a velocity so high that he'd be smashed into mutant pancake the moment he touched the ground.

Then he stops short, halting just inches from the tarred ground, body parallel to the road and still spread-eagled. He is righted then deposited gently on the ground.

"Looked like you could use a hand," Arc called from where he was deflecting Phantazia's electromagnetic waves.

Scott sighs in relief, colour flooding his previously pallid cheeks. “Thanks, T-Arc.”

Arc scowls slightly, catching the slip up and hoping that no one else did. A brief wave of his hand towards where Callisto and Azazel are still harassing Cap and Nightcrawler turns the ground at the two Brotherhood mutants' feet briefly to melted tar as he manipulates the heat energy in the road to melt the black substance.

Callisto and Azazel sink into the tarry ground, feet trapped such that Callisto can't run, although Azazel can still teleport away.

But Cap gets him first.

The spangled shield hits the red skinned mutant in the temple, sending the man spiralling into unconsciousness.

Scott sends an optic blast towards the struggling Callisto, the force of it knocking her out as well, her body awkwardly swaying back and forth, almost giving the X-Men -and Avenger- whiplash just from watching her.

 _Well,_ Tony thinks, scrutinising the battleground, _that’s two taken care of._

He unthinkingly redirects Phantazia’s EMPs back at her, unconsciously enhancing their strength to the point where there are actual electric currents generated, which shocks Phantazia, knocking the woman out as well.

 _Make that three,_  he adds.

 _Hey, X,_ Tony calls mentally. _How many of the Brotherhood are down? Who’s left?_

 _Other than the three around you, Riptide and Toad have been taken down by Thor, Storm and Rogue. Black Widow, Shadowcat and Jean are against Emma and Psylocke. Hawkeye, Iceman and Angel are going against Multiple Man and Pyro, and Avalanche and Quill are being taken down by Hulk, Beast and Colossus. Thor, Storm and Rogue are going up against Rhino now, and Blob seems to be attacking Hawkeye. Take care of Domino, her probability alteration is interfering drastically with the outcome of the battle. Charles_ replies, mentally scanning the battlefield.

He sees Erik lingering on the sidelines, occasionally redirecting a projectile from hitting his more valuable soldiers, like Emma, or John. **(A/N: John's Pyro, in case it's too troublesome to check the list.)**

Arc answers in the positive, enhanced vision scanning the battleground for Domino, seeing the sniper perched on the edge of a building, finger poised on the trigger of her rifle.

He sees her finger press down on the trigger, sees the bullet whiz out of the barrel. He knows enough about Domino to know that she wouldn't miss, and he telekinetically alters the path of the bullet, only for Domino to alter the probability of the bullet hitting its target, and the bullet continues on, almost piercing Angel's torso, but thankfully Arc was alert, redirecting the projectile just in time that it barely grazes the seraphic mutant.

Angel shudders at the mild injury, but it is already closing, albeit slowly. Angel has, after all, a healing factor that was just that much weaker than Logan's. **(A/N: I know Angel technically doesn't get his healing factor till he's Archangel, but creative license...?)**

Arc winces at the close call, taking Domino a little more seriously now. He can’t risk any of his teammates being fatally injured -he’d rather die than see that happen.

He levitates himself onto the rooftop, touching down soundlessly behind Domino. She hasn’t noticed him; one of the advantages of being able to manipulate energy was that he was perfectly capable of manipulating light to turn him invisible.

He sucks Domino’s energy from her, knocking her unconscious. It’s his signature move -taking an enemy down by taking their energy. It’s also his most effective one, and right now, effective is just what he needs.

Besides, the extra energy boost doesn’t hurt.

* * *

Iceman is up against Pyro, as usual, and while they are usually quite evenly matched, Bobby has backup this time.

It’s hard to concentrate on manipulating fire when you’re being constantly bombarded by arrows (much less ones that can basically do anything under the sun and you have no clue what the next is gonna do).

Pyro has already learned about explosive arrows, net arrows and boxing glove arrows the hard way. He’s not keen to see what the others can do.

Bobby disables Pyro, Clint sending a acid arrow that discharges at the boy’s feet, eating into the tarmac, sending the boy fleeing to prevent being corroded himself.

Blob is taken down when Clint, out of desperation -the guy appeared to have a mild obsession with fighting him- shoots the guy with an electric arrow, one that contained a heck a lot more voltage than his usual taser arrows.

The guy went down, not dead, but definitely unconscious.

Angel has taken Multiple Man, his wings enabling him to fly circles around Multiple Man -literally- and somehow he’d flown fast enough to create a vacuum that had effectively sucked the oxygen from the air around Multiple Man and broken his concentration, dissipating his copies. **(A/N: I am aware that I am completely butchering the X-Men and their powers, and I apologise, but I’m not exactly very well-versed in X-Men… Sorry..)**

Angel lands, helping the other two tie up the unconscious mutants.

Clint offers a grin, holding out his hand first to Bobby, then to Warren. “Nice to meet you. I’m Hawkeye. Call me Clint.”

“Iceman. Call me Bobby,” Bobby smiles, taking the proffered hand. “That’s some marksmanship you got there.”

“Angel. Call me Warren,” Angel replies, wings subconsciously spreading and fanning themselves out.

Clint looks on in jealousy. “Not fair, dude! I always wanted wings. I’m a _hawk_!"

Angel grins, flexing his wings. "Deal with it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	6. All Bets(Masks) Are Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! :)  
> Didja miss me? (Ok I'm being lame sorry lol)  
> Little bit of blood in this one (Just a teensy weensy bit)...

It takes a surprisingly short amount of time for the X-Men and Avengers to take down the Brotherhood, and soon the only Brotherhood mutant left is Magneto himself.

But while the X-Men and Avengers are clearly winning, they are not without casualties.

Jean is badly injured, stabbed through the abdomen by one of Psylocke's psi-blades, and Arc is busy stemming the blood flow, pushing energy into the cells surrounding the gaping wound, urging them to repair themselves quickly.

He is hunched over Jean's limp, unconscious form, afraid to leave her side, knowing that if he stepped away for even a second, he ran the risk of Jean dying.

Magneto sees his chance.

His powers commandeer Cap's shield at the same time that he levitates Logan into the air.

The spangled shield flies at Cap at the exact time that Logan, claws out, zooms at Scott.

Both Logan's and Scott's eyes are wide, fury and fear warring in them.

"Scott, get out of there!" Arc yells from his position over Jean's supine form.

He longs to jump in and save both Scott and Cap, but his place right now is with Jean.

At most, he can only deflect one of the projectiles. He goes for Cap's shield, because it's nearer to him, and it's mass is not as great as Logan's. Both distance and weight wise, the shield would be the least taxing on his powers.

But he can't let Scott die, goddamnit.

 _JARVIS_ , he calls technopathically. _Bring the suit around, shield Scott. I don't care if it gets utterly destroyed, just make sure Scott survives._

 _Acknowledged, sir._ JARVIS replies succinctly, and a moment later the whir of the suit is heard.

Seconds before Logan reaches Scott, the Mark XLII lands between the two.

Adamantium claws sink into the gold-titanium alloy, and despite this suit being the strongest of Tony's armours, adamantium still proves to be a metal superior to all others.

The claws have some difficulty piercing through the multiple layers of protection that the suit has incorporated in, but ultimately, the claws manage to pierce not only the force field surrounding the armour, but the gold-titanium alloy, the silicon-enforced steel, the suit's ceramic plating and its fibreglass frame.

The claws sink into the suit, but thankfully don't get in very far.

If there was a person in the suit though, they'd still be terribly injured.

The suit's eyes dim, blue flickering in short, occasional pulses as the adamantium slices through delicate circuitry.

Tony winces at the damage sustained, knowing full well that rewiring and resoldering the circuitry alone is already going to take him about a week, not to mention making repairs to the compromised armour and reinforcing it so that not even adamantium can pierce through.

But Scott's alive and uninjured, and Jean's adequately healed enough that Hank can bring her back to the Blackbird to rest, and he can't bring himself to care all that much about the time that's going to be spent on repairs.

The Avengers, on the other hand, are panicking.

It's almost impossible for any human -heck, it probably applies to Asgardians too- to survive being stabbed through the torso, and Tony's in the suit -which just got impaled-, isn't he?

The Avengers rush to the suit, Thor ripping off the faceplate (God, deja vu much?),  expecting Tony's bloodied, unconscious face.

They are instead met with an empty suit, sparking and short-circuiting, but definitely empty.

They naturally jump to conclusions.

"Magneto," Clint growls. "This has to be his work."

Thor swings Mjolnir back and forth threateningly.

"Foul villain," he bellows. "What have you done to the Man of Iron?"

Magneto is understandably confused, but he plays the situation to his advantage.

"Why should I tell you?" He sneers.

"What right have you to keep secrets from us, villain? I should smite you for that remark!"

Thor is furious, vision clouded with anger. "Tell me!"

Tony can see Magneto trying to piece the puzzle together, and while he's still extremely far from the answer, Tony doesn't want to chance an enemy knowing of his alter-ego.

 _Charles?_ Tony calls. _Can you wipe Erik's memory? There's chance that he might be on to me._

Knowing how important Tony’s identity is to him -being known as Iron Man is bad enough, he doesn’t need to add Arc to that list as well-, Charles replies in the positive.

Tony telekinetically lifts Magneto’s helmet, and all the X-Men feel the telepathic energy that swirls momentarily around Magneto, all of them recognising the Professor’s signature.

Magneto’s eyes unfocus for a moment, and Scott immediately knows what Charles is doing, and he pitches in, immediately, sending a low powered optic blast towards Magneto, knocking him unconscious to ensure that the man doesn’t suspect that anything is amiss.

The Avengers immediately turn on the X-Men when Magneto collapses to the ground.

“What in the world are you trying to prove? We were just about to get answers from him!”

“Magneto never gives! He’s just going to end up tricking you and leading you into a trap!”

“No he’s not! We know when someone’s lying to us; you can’t trick the two best spy-assassins in the world!”

“Yes, you can; it’s only human to be led into believing something.”

Clint opens his mouth to retort, but Logan growls, frustrated at the Avengers’ stubbornness. He gets right into Clint’s face. “We’re trying to help you guys, get it?”

“No, I don’t,” Clint bites back. “We don’t need your help! We’re trying to get our teammate back!”

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Logan yells, hands swinging upwards in exasperation.

What he doesn’t realise, is that his claws aren’t retracted -they slash right through Clint’s vest and gouge deep into his torso.

Clint positively screams in agony, falling back and trying desperately to stem the blood gushing from his mutilated torso. The gashes aren’t deep enough to have cut into any internal organs, but there is still the possibility of blood loss.

Natasha immediately leaps forward, shielding her injured partner, firing off a round at Logan, which tears ruthlessly through his skin.

Rogue’s features twist into a snarl as she launches herself at Black Widow. Logan is almost a father figure to her; how _dare_ the woman hurt him!

Widow fires off a shot that that grazes her arm, and Rogue’s entire body flinches involuntarily, halting her in the midst of her attack.

Logan growls, agony and rabid anger twisting his features, the open wounds knitting back together in the span of a second. He lunges towards Natasha, fury written on his face. _No one_ hurts Rogue. _Ever_.

Thor, ever the loyal one, throws Mjolnir at Wolverine, knocking the man out of the way.

Mjolnir returns to his open palm, and the god of thunder takes a defensive position next to the Widow of Black.

Steve watches the scene from his position on the ground where he is staunching the blood flow from Clint’s wound.

“Widow, Thor, stand down. The X-Men are not our enemies,” Cap orders at the same time that Scott gives a similar order to Logan.

The X-Men and Avengers are at a standoff, neither fully trusting the other group.

Arc finally has enough. He’s tired of seeing his two families battle it out, and if the only way to diffuse the tension is to reveal himself, then reveal himself he will.

“Enough!” Arc yells, lightning crackling up from his hands, lighting the sky and painting the ground in shadows and electricity, fire roaring up around him in an immense show of power. His eyes flash sharply, glowing brighter than usual and a white so pure and blinding that they have to look away.

Both X-Men and the Avengers freeze in awe and fear at the display of strength.

Even the X-Men have never seen the full extent of Tony's powers -he's never had reason to utilise them to their full capacity. They were strong enough even at half their strength.

“Magneto didn’t do anything to Tony Stark,” Arc snaps once he has all the Avengers’ attention. His hand lifts up towards his mask.

“Arc, no,” Scott warns. “Don’t. You might regre-”

“No, Scott, I’m over pretending. They have to know. It’ll never work otherwise.”

“Magneto didn’t do anything to Tony Stark,” Arc repeats, removing his mask.

“Because I am Tony Stark.”

Looking at the Avengers, dressed in Arc’s X-Men leathers, is Tony Stark. The streaks of blue have faded from his hair, and his eyes are not glowing any longer. They are their usual deep, dark brown, and they hold no sign of any sort of electricity.

The Avengers don’t know what to believe, and at first, as expected, they don’t trust the supposed ‘Tony Stark’.

But as they go through the behaviour of Arc the entire fight, and how when Arc was around there was no Tony, and how Arc didn’t appear until Tony allegedly flew off to act as a scout and pick off stragglers, the pieces fall in place.

Tony Stark, Iron Man, Avenger…

… was Arc, second-in-command of the X-Men and one of the most powerful mutants alive.

Damn. And they had thought that Tony was the most normal person on the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortish? But hopefully satisfactory :) To be very honest I had so many different ideas on how Arc could have been revealed, but I guess this was the one that stuck XD  
> I might do a separate fic on the different ways Arc could have revealed himself... Maybe.  
> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	7. OverARCing Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter. Team feels galore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this starts off a little choppily...  
> Contains a mild bit of angst (because Tony Stark, what do you expect XD)  
> Still don't own Marvel or Avengers or X-Men... That's Disney, Marvel and 20th Century Fox...

Clint is the first to recover -literally. Arc had healed the gashes in his chest. “Hang on. You’re telling me that Stark’s eyes aren’t actually brown, and his natural hair colour is blue-streaked brown?”

Tony snorted, the other X-Men snickering behind him. “That’s the first thing you ask? And for the record, my eyes are naturally brown, the electricity is a hologram. My hair actually _is_ blue-streaked brown though.”

"How long?" Natasha cuts in smoothly, detached but not cold enough to completely dash Tony's hopes of acceptance.

He immediately understands what she's asking, though. "Since I was four. First power appeared when I was soldering my circuit board."

Natasha nods, absorbing the information while Tony scrutinises the Avengers' expressions. He doesn't see hatred or disgust, but he doesn't see acceptance either.

He shrinks back unconsciously, not wanting but expecting the hurt of the Avengers rebuking him, backing away into the security of the X-Men.

The X-Men migrate to his side, flanking him. Scott's supportive hand grips his shoulder tightly and Ororo's locates and grasps his, her touch completely caring and sisterly, warm and comforting.

He takes strength (metaphorically, of course. He wouldn’t actually suck energy from his family) from their touch and from the others flanking him, drawing himself up from his previously hunched-in-on-himself position.

Shutting his eyes, Tony takes a deep, composing breath. _They’re not going to abandon you, Tony. They seem perfectly non-discriminatory about mutants, don’t they?_ _They even seem to sort of like them._

His internal pep talk helps a little, and he mentally calls up memories of Pepper’s and Rhodey’s complete acceptance when he finally told them that he was a mutant.

He’d never told them that he was Arc.

That was a little too private, and he knew that the governments of the world were still concerned about Arc. He was too secretive, too mysterious. They saw him as a loose cannon.

But enough of that. The Avengers were his family; they were the only people who’d ever accepted him, discounting Xavier and the X-Men.

They’d never turn their backs on him (he hoped).

But he knew how sharp, how cutting and hurting they could be _(I know guys with none of that worth ten of you)_. He knew that they may not have the best impression of him _(Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended) (The only thing you really fight for is yourself)._

He knew that they may have downright hated him at first _(You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you)_ , thought he was an annoying a-hole _(you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero),_ but they were a team now.

They were a family, and family doesn’t give up on each other.

Right? (Or was he the only one who felt that way?)

It wouldn’t be the first time ‘family’ turned on him. _Grubby hands grasping at him. The shrill shriek of the gadget he’d developed, paralysing him. Hands groping around inside his chest cavity. Those same hands holding up the glowing reactor. (A new generation of weapons... with this at its heart)._

Bruce -who’d somehow not passed out after the Hulk-to-Bruce transformation- is the first to notice the dilating pupils, the shallow breaths, the glassy eyes and shaking hands. He is the first to see Tony’s hand creeping up protectively to splay over his Arc Reactor, the fingers trembling violently.

Bruce is a medical specialist. He knows the beginnings of a panic attack when he sees one.

And he is the first to accept.

He walks cautiously up to Tony, and the X-Men must see something about him, because they back away, letting Bruce gently rest a hand on his shoulder.

Tony flinches away from him slightly.

“Hey, Tony, come on, come back to us. You’re safe, you’re not alone, we’re here,” Bruce whispers, and while Tony’s breath and pulse seem to slow just the tiniest bit, his body is still shaking and his skin is clammy.

“Come on, Tony, it’s safe, we’re all here.”

There is no change in the billionaire.

Bruce takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what he’s going to say next. He knows that there’s a chance that it might make things worse, but it’s the only thing that might work. “I’m not Obadiah, Tony. It’s Bruce, Tony, your 'Science Bro'."

Even with the comforting tone of voice Bruce is using everyone can hear the mock-exasperated air-quotes around the two words.

The words work though, and Tony slowly comes back to himself.

For a moment, he leans into Bruce’s grip, but then the previous revelation comes rushing back, and he flinches away from the other scientist.

“Tony, it’s alright, I don’t really care if you are a mutant. I mean, if you think about it, I’m one too, aren’t I?”

“You’re different. You were born normal. I wasn’t. I was born a freak, if I had told Howard what I was, I would have either been experimented on until I died, or I would have been killed in my sleep for being a freak!” Tony rebuts, voice rising in pitch and slightly hysterical.

The X-Men know that he doesn’t mean it, know that he doesn’t think of mutants as freaks and is just parroting Howard. They’ve seen him break down, once before, and they knew enough to know that he didn’t mean anything insulting that he said during one of them.

Unexpectedly, Bruce steps forward and hugs the other other man, pulling him into a tight embrace. “Tony, you’re _not_ a freak. You’re the smartest, best man I know, and Howard doesn’t deserve a son like you.”

Tony smiles wanly, the words sobering him. “Thanks, Bruce.”

He looks at the other Avengers, who have seen the exchange, and he sees a sort of acceptance in their eyes.

Steve is the next to come forward. “Listen, Tony, while I am kinda angry with you for keeping such a big secret from us, you have to understand that being different doesn’t make you a freak, it doesn’t make you an outcast. Being a mutant doesn’t mean you can’t have friends.”

Tony’s smile grows a little.

Then Thor comes forward. “Friend Tony, I am most curious as to why Midgardians would cast out their own so. Are the ‘mutants’ not Midgardian as well? Are your powers not wondrous? I do not see the logic in this, and I do not see why you fear rejection so when there is no reason to reject you.”

Tony’s smile reaches his eyes, the dark brown lightening at the acceptance of three of his team. There are two more to go, but they are the two that he is the most unsure of.

Clint steps up. “Listen, Tony, while Steve is right, and I really am kinda pissed with you for hiding this, you seriously can’t think that we’ll reject you just because you’re a mutant, right? I mean, if you’re a freak, then what are the rest of us? Monstrosities? The entire team is a far call from normal, you know. If I had a dollar for every time someone gave me flak for my sharpshooting, I'd be richer than you."

Tony grinned, a semblance of a smirk creeping onto his face. "Impossible. Hello, richest person in the world here. There is _no_ way you could have been asked the same question so many times."

Clint shoots Tony a lopsided grin. "Oh, you better believe it."

Both the X-Men and the Avengers can see Tony rebounding back to his usual self, slowly but surely.

There is one last Avenger left, and she is the one that they regard with the most trepidation.

This last one would either make it or break it.

Natasha steps forward, expression unreadable, and the other Avengers and X-Men unconsciously hold their breaths.

"Listen, Tony. Yes, I'm angry -furious- with you for not telling us -your team- that you're a mutant, but I understand. I understand the need to live in secrecy, the need to hide away from the world for your own protection. And, contrary to what I know all of you think, I don't hate mutants. Yeah, maybe I've fought some of them in previous missions before, maybe I don't have the best record for forgiveness, but I don't hate them. I... I used to have a friend that was a mutant. Wh- when I was a girl. She saved my life once."

The unspoken ' _so did you_ ' hangs in the air between them.

Tony's muscles relax as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

He smiles, a real, genuine smile that lights up the vicinity and makes both the X-Men and Avengers relax, nothing like the false ones that he dons for the paparazzi and televised broadcasts.

Something sparks in Tony's eyes, and he spreads out his arms in a sudden, unexpected move.

"Group hug!" He announces in a childish, very Tony Stark-esque tone.

Everyone laughs, but in a completely uncharacteristic bout of relief, they all surge forward, X-Men and Avengers mingling together.

Tony lets out a small sigh of relief, seeing his two families interacting comfortably and familiarly, no discrimination from either side present in the slightest.

He'd never thought that the Avengers would be so accepting of him if they found out his identity. He'd never had them pegged as the trusting type, and if he had kept such a big secret from them, who knew what others he could be keeping?

But the Avengers threw that notion out of the window, smashing the ridiculous thought to smithereens.

He couldn't be happier.

And after it all, when everyone is comfortably ensconced in Stark -Avengers- Tower, when Bruce slumps into the sofa beside him and whispers "Family sticks together, Tony,", all he can do is smile and nod in agreement.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About Tony's hair, I'm sorry, I don't know why I like the idea of Tony with streaks in his hair... I'm weird.
> 
> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


	8. Arc's Reputation Precedes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the villains are secretly (or not-so-secretly) completely terrified of Arc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was an unexpected short that just popped into my head after I watched the Marvel: Avengers Assemble (it's the cartoon). Yeah, it's really short and honestly not very good, I think, but if it makes you guys feel better, I'm considering turning this into a series... :)  
> This is basically an epilogue.

The mission that comes directly after Tony's big reveal is, ironically, against MODOK.

The team goes up against the gigantic head, which is cackling insanely, technopathic abilities screwing with the Avenger Quinjet. Tony's piloting the plane, and MODOK comes on screen.

"My, my, Stark," he jeers. "One would think you'd have learned by now. I am a technopath, and you know what technopaths do to machines... _Anything_ I want!"

The overly inflated head -literally- is jeering at them, technopathic signals stretching out towards the now convulsing jet. The Avengers are thrown around in their seats haphazardly, tossed against their seatbelts brutally, the straps cutting into their shoulders.

Tony grimaces, before pulling a smug smirk. "Oh, yeah, I know, MODOK."

Then he unleashes the full power of his own technopathic abilities, a mutation so strong that it is undeniably at least a Class Four power, bordering on Class Five.

The force of someone fighting fire with fire, pushing back against his own technopathic abilities sends MODOK reeling backwards, both mentally and physically. MODOK has never had reason to match another technopath in terms of mental strength - the only other technopath he'd ever encountered in his life stronger than him was the mutant Arc.

And MODOK had never dared fight Arc. He knew what strength Arc's technopathic abilities could contain, and in the world of mutants, both scientifically created and born, all technopaths feared Arc, for he was the strongest of them all.

But now, the power Tony Stark was unleashing was immense, concentrated, utterly overwhelming. It was equally as strong as, if not stronger than, Arc's.

MODOK rights himself shakily. "Who- what are you?"

Tony smirks, stooping to unlatch a compartment in the side of his suit. He holds an undefinable piece of material in his hand, and slowly, the suit disengages, and Tony steps out in a form fitting, pure black, leather long sleeved vest, an 'X' emblazoned across his chest, edged with electric blue. It has a high collar, open at the throat, with silvery collar pins at on each end of the collar, in the shape of an 'X' once again. The last 'X' on the bodysuit is the silvery one resting where a belt buckle would normally. The bodysuit is edged with electric blue on the shoulders, forearms and the sides of his legs.

MODOK frowns at the costume; it's eerily familiar, and it looks to be of the X-Men's design, but what would Tony Stark be doing wearing an X-Men outfit?

Then Tony reveals the object in his hand; it's a solid black mask, one that would span about three-quarters of his face when put on. The billionaire slips on the mask, and immediately, the three-quarter mask lights up a startlingly bright silver-blue, intricate circuitry designs running across the material.

His eyes turn the exact shade of silver-blue that now criss-crosses his mask, and his pupils and irises disappear. Occasionally, a streak of electricity arcs across the glowing canvas of his eyes, and streaks of blue manifest in his dark hair.

MODOK blanches at the familiar visage. "A-Ar-Arc."

A sharp, blinding smile pulls at Tony's cheeks. "Oh yeah, it's me."

MODOK flinches noticeably, and the floating head disappears in a flash, speeding off to trouble some other pitiable superhero group.

Tony waits until the villain has completely disappeared, before bursting into laughter, simultaneously removing his mask and storing it back in its compartment.

There are tears at the corner of the billionaire's squinted eyes, crow's feet by the sides. He full-out bellows with laughter, stricken at MODOK's face upon discovering who Arc really is. He has no doubt that his identity will still be kept secret, though, because MODOK is so utterly terrified of Arc that the villain won't risk revealing anything that would make Arc angry.

Besides, worse come to worst, he could just ask Charles to wipe the annoying floating head's mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Good? Bad? Mediocre? I just typed this out on a whim, so you'll have to forgive any mistakes and stuff! Thanks for reading!


	9. Fanart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fanart! :)))

Fanart by the amazing [bloodysword99](http://bloodysword99.deviantart.com/)

 


	10. More Fanart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More fanart again! :))))

Fanart by the awesome [spyofzurich](http://spyofzurich.deviantart.com/)!


	11. More Fanart!

More fanart by the wonderful [bloodysword99](http://bloodysword99.deviantart.com/)!! :)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So, I apologise if this was crappy or too short or something.:)  
> List of Who’s Who (Mutants Only):  
> Magneto = Erik Lehnsherr (Powers: Magnetism)  
> Mystique = Raven Darkhölme (Shapeshifting)  
> Professor X = Charles Xavier (Telepathy)  
> Jean = Jean Grey (Telepathy/ Telekinesis)  
> Wolverine = James ‘Logan’ Howlett (Adamantium claws/ Healing Factor/ Extended Lifespan)  
> Cyclops = Scott Summers (Optic Lasers)  
> Storm = Ororo Munroe (Weather Manipulation)  
> Beast = Hank McCoy (Prehensile feet, Physical Enhancement)  
> Angel = Warren Worthington III (Flight)  
> Shadowcat = Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde (Phasing)  
> Nightcrawler = Kurt Wagner (Teleportation)  
> Pyro = John Allerdyce (Pyrokinesis)  
> Iceman = Robert 'Bobby' Drake (Ice Manipulation/ creation)  
> (Only giving those whose both human and mutant names I have used/ am going to use in the fic)


End file.
